Natalie Courtney

Natalie Courtney's biography and research focus.

Contact type
Person
First name
Natalie
Surname
Courtney
Title
Miss
Role
PhD Student - Murray Group
Organisation 1
Hugh Robson Building
Organisation 2
George Square
Organisation 3
Edinburgh, EH8 9XD
Work phone
+44 (0) 131 651 1497
Email
natalie.courtney@ed.ac.uk

Personal profile

  • PhD in Integrative Physiology (University of Edinburgh, 2015 - Present) ·
  • MSc by Research in Integrative Physiology (University of Edinburgh, 2014 - 2015) ·
  • BSc (with honours of the 1st Class) in Anatomy (University of Glasgow, 2010 - 2014)

Research

My PhD looks to further our knowledge of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a motor neuron disease that predominantly affects children. In this disease, motor neurons degenerate and muscles become denervated meaning patients experience progressive paralysis.

I am interested in determining exactly where and when motor neurons begin to degenerate in SMA. It has long been assumed that motor neuron breakdown begins at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ; the point at which the motor neuron connects with the muscle) as this is where we see signs of degeneration first. However, recent evidence suggests that pathways associated with cell death are activated before there are any visible signs of degeneration (Murray et al, Acta Neuropathol. Commun., 2015). By understanding whether it is NMJ degeneration that causes motor neuron death or motor neuron death that causes NMJ degeneration, we can determine when and where in the motor neuron therapeutics are required.

I am also interested in understanding why not all muscles in SMA are equally affected. While some muscle display vast denervation, others remain innervated even at a late stage of the disease. The reasons for this remain unknown. I hypothesis that sprouting of motor neurons may play a role in this phenomenon – perhaps denervation of these ‘unaffected’ muscles is ongoing but this is not visible as the motor neurons that have not degenerated sprout. They grow new branches to ensure that the muscle remains innervated. If this is the case, then sprouting may be a potential therapeutic target in SMA.

Recent publications

Murray LM, Beauvais A, Gibeault S, Courtney NL, Kothary R. (2015) Transcriptional Profiling of Differentially Vulnerable Motor Neurons at a Pre-symptomatic Stage in the Smn2B/- Mouse Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Acta Neuropathologica Communications. 3;55-72

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